adults feel, and it would be just as unwise to get her a new doll,
when she needs most of all a wash-boiler for her kitchen, as it
would be to buy for yourself a picture, when you really need a pair
of new spectacles.

All the different articles needed for the running of the doll's
house can now be bought separately. In buying the different
articles, the things to keep in mind are usability, simplicity, and
durability. The furniture that you buy or make must be able to serve
the ostensible purpose of doll's furniture. It is better to get one
chair that is of the right size for the doll, well proportioned and
strong enough to stand the handling of the owner, than a whole set
of "pretty" and flimsy and useless furniture that you can buy in a
gay box for the same price.

Of course, it is understood that the principles of usability,
simplicity, and durability apply to the dolls themselves. It is now
easy to obtain dolls with indestructible heads and with jointed
bodies made of durable material. The little baby will love the doll
with a felt head. It can stand being loved hard without losing some
of its features. To give a little girl a doll that is so finely
dressed and so daintily constructed that she is permitted to come
out of her box only on state occasions is a violation of every sound
principle of child training and fair dealing.

I have mentioned, as examples of the kind of toys that can be bought
singly and grouped about some central idea, the farm and the doll's
house, but, of course, there are many other things--railroads with
their equipment, dairies, stores of all kinds, etc.